Why I chose Montana as the setting for my first book
Fields of FireWhy did I choose Montana as the setting for my first book?
That's a question I wanted to answer with my first ever Goodreads blog post. Before I get into that, though, I just want to take a moment to say how surreal this whole thing is for me. For the last decade, I've been a freelance editor, on top of working as a thriller insider and critic over at The Real Book Spy. Never did I think I would be gearing up to release my own book, but here we are.
Quickly, I'd like to thank everyone who has pre-ordered FIELDS OF FIRE. The book doesn't come out until August 2, 2022, but I can't tell you how important pre-orders are to a book's success. So to everyone who has placed their order way in advance, I cannot thank you enough.
Okay, so Montana? That's not exactly where we see these types of books often set, right? And THAT is why I chose Big Sky country when I started writing FIELDS OF FIRE more than half a decade ago.
As mentioned above, I work on thrillers (as an editor), and I cover them (as a Book Spy), so when it came time for me to sit and plot my own, I wanted to deliver something that was indeed unlike anything I'd ever touched—as a fan, editor, or critic—and one day it hit me that we hardly ever see the Mitch Rapp types in Colorado, or Jason Bourne in Wyoming, or Scot Harvath in one of the Dakotas. Generally, these types of thrillers are set in Washington, D.C. or the surrounding area, or a big city like New York, LA, or even someplace overseas.
But the west, the vast and beautiful wild west, is a place that has primarily been used only for mysteries and crime. I'm a big fan of those books and genres, don't get me wrong. I'm on record as saying my two favorite authors are the late Vince Flynn and C.J. Box. In one sense, their books/series couldn't be more different. And yet, there are undertones that are the very same. I thought about that for weeks, then wrote down on a legal pad: "Vince Flynn meets C.J. Box." That was the book I was going to write.
(Fun fact, that very tagline was what I pitched to my agent when it was done. It was also used on the submission to my now publisher when they first received the manuscript.)
After doing some research, I landed on Montana as the setting for a number of reasons that, quite frankly, would spoil the book if I told you here. So it's fair to say that the decision was plot-driven. However, I fell in love with area, the west in general, and found myself embracing the obstacles that popped up as I dropped my hero, a former Marine Raider named Matthew Redd, into the open landscape.
Now, years later, I look back and see that this book, the series really, would only work here . . . and I can't wait for you all to see just why that is.
Stay tuned for more blog posts as I plan to write regularly here. In the meantime, if you'd like to check out the FIELDS OF FIRE Amazon page, visit: https://amzn.to/3eaGVaJ
That's a question I wanted to answer with my first ever Goodreads blog post. Before I get into that, though, I just want to take a moment to say how surreal this whole thing is for me. For the last decade, I've been a freelance editor, on top of working as a thriller insider and critic over at The Real Book Spy. Never did I think I would be gearing up to release my own book, but here we are.
Quickly, I'd like to thank everyone who has pre-ordered FIELDS OF FIRE. The book doesn't come out until August 2, 2022, but I can't tell you how important pre-orders are to a book's success. So to everyone who has placed their order way in advance, I cannot thank you enough.
Okay, so Montana? That's not exactly where we see these types of books often set, right? And THAT is why I chose Big Sky country when I started writing FIELDS OF FIRE more than half a decade ago.
As mentioned above, I work on thrillers (as an editor), and I cover them (as a Book Spy), so when it came time for me to sit and plot my own, I wanted to deliver something that was indeed unlike anything I'd ever touched—as a fan, editor, or critic—and one day it hit me that we hardly ever see the Mitch Rapp types in Colorado, or Jason Bourne in Wyoming, or Scot Harvath in one of the Dakotas. Generally, these types of thrillers are set in Washington, D.C. or the surrounding area, or a big city like New York, LA, or even someplace overseas.
But the west, the vast and beautiful wild west, is a place that has primarily been used only for mysteries and crime. I'm a big fan of those books and genres, don't get me wrong. I'm on record as saying my two favorite authors are the late Vince Flynn and C.J. Box. In one sense, their books/series couldn't be more different. And yet, there are undertones that are the very same. I thought about that for weeks, then wrote down on a legal pad: "Vince Flynn meets C.J. Box." That was the book I was going to write.
(Fun fact, that very tagline was what I pitched to my agent when it was done. It was also used on the submission to my now publisher when they first received the manuscript.)
After doing some research, I landed on Montana as the setting for a number of reasons that, quite frankly, would spoil the book if I told you here. So it's fair to say that the decision was plot-driven. However, I fell in love with area, the west in general, and found myself embracing the obstacles that popped up as I dropped my hero, a former Marine Raider named Matthew Redd, into the open landscape.
Now, years later, I look back and see that this book, the series really, would only work here . . . and I can't wait for you all to see just why that is.
Stay tuned for more blog posts as I plan to write regularly here. In the meantime, if you'd like to check out the FIELDS OF FIRE Amazon page, visit: https://amzn.to/3eaGVaJ
No comments have been added yet.
Ryan's Blog
From characters to setting to plot . . . and more! I'll be writing about all things thriller (and not always my own) in this Goodreads Blog.
...more
- Ryan Steck's profile
- 500 followers
